English Short Stories | Short Stories in English to Read

The Enchanted Mirror

Once upon a time, there was a woman named Sarah.

She lived in a small town and worked as a teacher. Sarah loved to explore old shops and look for interesting things.

One day, Sarah went into an antique shop she had never been to before. The shop was full of dusty old things.

As she walked around, something caught her eye. It was an old mirror with a fancy golden frame. The mirror looked very old, but it was still beautiful.

Sarah decided to buy the mirror. She took it home and hung it on her bedroom wall.

At first, everything seemed normal. But then, strange things started to happen.

One morning, Sarah looked in the mirror to fix her hair. But instead of seeing her reflection, she saw a beautiful garden.

There were flowers of every color and butterflies flying around. Sarah blinked and rubbed her eyes, but the garden was still there.

She reached out to touch the mirror, and her hand went right through it! Sarah quickly pulled her hand back, feeling scared and confused.

Over the next few days, Sarah saw more things in the mirror. Sometimes she saw a castle on a hill.

Other times, she saw a forest with talking animals. Once, she even saw a group of fairies dancing in a circle.

Sarah didn’t tell anyone about the mirror. She was afraid people would think she was crazy. But she couldn’t stop looking at it.

Every day, she would spend hours staring into the mirror, watching the magical world on the other side.

As time went on, Sarah started to feel unhappy with her normal life. She didn’t enjoy teaching as much as she used to.

She stopped going out with her friends. All she wanted to do was look in the mirror.

One day, Sarah decided to be brave. She took a deep breath and stepped through the mirror into the magical world.

It was even more amazing than she had imagined. The air smelled sweet, and she could hear beautiful music playing.

Sarah explored the magical world for what felt like hours. She talked to friendly animals, picked magical flowers, and even flew on the back of a dragon. It was the most wonderful experience of her life.

But when it was time to go home, Sarah couldn’t find her way back to the mirror. She looked and looked, but she couldn’t remember where she had come from. Sarah started to feel scared and alone.

Just when she was about to give up hope, she heard a voice. It was coming from a wise old owl sitting in a tree.

The owl told Sarah that the mirror was a magic portal, but it only worked if you truly wanted to go home.

Sarah thought about her life back in the real world. She thought about her students, her friends, and her family.

She realized that even though the magical world was wonderful, she missed her real life.

As soon as Sarah had this thought, the mirror appeared in front of her. She stepped through it and found herself back in her bedroom.

From that day on, Sarah looked at her life differently. She still used the mirror sometimes to visit the magical world, but she didn’t let it take over her life.

She started to see the magic in her everyday world too – in her students’ smiles, in the beauty of nature, and in the love of her friends and family.

Sarah learned that while it’s fun to dream and imagine, it’s important to appreciate the real world too.

She became happier than ever before, enjoying both her normal life and her secret visits to the magical world.

And so, Sarah lived happily, with one foot in the real world and one foot in the world of magic, always grateful for the enchanted mirror that had changed her life.

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English Short Stories | Short Stories in English to Read

 The Mysterious Letter

John was an ordinary man living an ordinary life.

He worked at an office, liked to watch sports on TV, and took his dog for walks in the park.

Nothing exciting ever happened to him.

One day, John went to check his mailbox as he did every morning. Among the usual bills and junk mail, he found a strange letter.

The envelope looked old and worn, with no return address. Curious, John opened it right there on the street.

As he read the letter, his eyes grew wide with shock. The letter claimed to be from himself – but from 30 years in the future!

At first, John thought it must be a joke. But as he read on, he saw details about his life that no one else could know.

Things from his childhood, secrets he had never told anyone.

The letter warned of a terrible disaster that would happen in just one week.

A huge earthquake would strike the city, destroying buildings and killing thousands of people.

Future John wrote that he had spent his whole life regretting that he didn’t do anything to save people when he had the chance.

He begged his younger self to warn everyone and get them to safety.

John’s mind was spinning. Could this really be true? How was it even possible to send a letter through time?

Part of him wanted to just throw the letter away and pretend he never saw it. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was real.

He decided to take the letter to his best friend, Mike. “What do you think?” John asked after showing it to him. Mike read it carefully, his forehead wrinkled in thought.

“It’s crazy,” Mike said finally. “But… what if it’s true? Can we take that chance?”

John nodded slowly. “That’s what I was thinking too. But what can we do? If we start telling people an earthquake is coming, they’ll think we’re nuts!”

The friends brainstormed ideas. They couldn’t go to the police or the government – no one would believe them without proof.

They thought about putting warnings on social media, but worried people would just think it was a prank.

In the end, they came up with a plan. They would quietly warn their closest friends and family, telling them to be ready to leave the city in a week.

John and Mike also started gathering emergency supplies – food, water, first aid kits. They told people they were planning a big camping trip to explain all the supplies.

As the day of the supposed earthquake got closer, John grew more and more nervous.

What if he was wrong and looked like a fool? What if he was right and not enough people listened?

The night before the earthquake was supposed to hit, John couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned, imagining the ground shaking and buildings falling.

When his alarm went off in the morning, he jumped out of bed with his heart pounding.

All day long, John watched and waited. The hours ticked by slowly. Nothing happened. John started to feel silly for believing the letter.

He was about to call Mike and laugh about it when suddenly the ground began to shake.

It started small at first, but quickly grew stronger. Books fell off shelves, windows rattled, car alarms went off in the street. John dove under his desk as he heard screams from outside.

The earthquake lasted for several long minutes. When it was finally over, John carefully made his way outside. The street was filled with scared people, many of them hurt. Several buildings had collapsed.

John’s phone buzzed with a text from Mike: “U OK? Meeting at the park like we planned.”

John hurried to the park, where he found Mike and several of their friends gathering. They had listened to the warning and brought supplies.

Now they worked together to set up a little camp and help injured people who came by.

Over the next few days, John and his friends did what they could to help the city recover. It was hard work, and John often felt overwhelmed by the destruction he saw.

But every time he felt like giving up, he thought of the letter. His future self had given him a chance to make a difference, and he was going to make the most of it.

As weeks passed and the city slowly rebuilt, John thought often about the mysterious letter.

He wondered if he would someday be the one to write it and send it back in time. The idea both excited and scared him.

Whatever happened, John knew his life would never be the same. The letter had taught him that every day was precious, and that one person really could make a difference.

He promised himself that he would live the rest of his life trying to help others however he could.

And so, the ordinary man who had lived an ordinary life became something much more – a hero who had helped save his city, all because he chose to believe in a mysterious letter from the future.